a nonprofit event series for self-identifying women in creative industry and the arts.

Our Top Nine: The Best Moments At #BBATX This Year

We’re almost to the other side — past the first year of T****’s presidency, past an exhausting year to be online, and past the year when so many women made their secret pain public as part of a necessary, but too long awaited revolution. So many momentous things happened in 2017 — nationally, and in our own community.

As a young organization, we know as well as anyone doing the work, that creating real change requires small, consistent steps. We hope to continue taking those steps so that we can do more, and be more to more women, in 2018. In no particular order, these were our top nine biggest hits of 2017.

1.) Inaugural State of the Uterus

We started the year off strong, and mad as hell. After joining our sisters to march the streets of Austin on the day of T****’s inauguration, we hosted the resistance at Cheer Up Charlie’s for our inaugural State of the Uterus — and raised $6,500 for local women’s organizations in the process. The night was nothing short of magical with hundreds of broken hearts finding cathartic comfort in dancing the night away.

2.) Spring and Fall craftHER Markets

As ever, we spent the year supporting women makers, creatives, and entrepreneurs. In both the spring and fall, we hosted our biannual craftHER market featuring more than 200 vendors and panels and resources relevant to the maker community. Since its creation two years ago, the market has welcomed more than 7,500 attendees, and we’re getting ready to show up and show out in 2018.

3.) EMPRESS at SXSW

In 2017, we made ourselves known at SXSW with an all-night dance party and music showcase featuring an all-woman line-up of artists including Anna Wise, Madame Gandhi, Keeper, Micahtron, and more, and of vendors including Peach Fuzz magazine, Cliche Collective, Homoground, and Selva Beat zine. We hope to be back next year!

4.) Austin Women’s Hall of Fame Induction

Our fierce founder Jane Claire Hervey was honored earlier this year by being inducted into Austin Women’s Hall of Fame. The City of Austin Commission for Women recognized Jane, and inductees Robbie Ausley, Colette Pierce Burnette, Ann Howard, Patsy Woods Martin and Jill Ramirez, for the contributions they’ve made to break barriers for women in Austin and to better the lives of women and girls in the area. By recognizing Jane, the city also recognizes the efforts of our organization, and we couldn’t be more proud.

5.) Turning Two Years Old

This year, we turned another year older and gained another year of wisdom. With every new event we host and program we produce, we learn new ways of organizing, reach more people, and spread our mission further. To celebrate our second birthday this May, we held a blow-out fundraising bash at Space 24 Twenty. The event marked a celebration of the 75+ events held and 15,000+ people reached thus far in our organization’s journey. Here’s to another year of bad-ass babe-ry!

6.) Formation of the #bbatx Committee

We grew by leaps and bounds and women this year! We started the year with just a handful of team members, working hard to put on our full calendar of events and workshops. As we close out the year, we now have more than 15 new babes to call our own. We’re incredibly grateful for the women who have volunteered to give their time and talent to our cause, and we can’t wait to see what they do, and how Boss Babes transforms, with their addition.

7.) Unity in Color: Austin

This year, we were so proud to help produce the Austin installment of Unity in Color, a worldwide photo series of large group portraits of women wearing yellow. Created by artist, producer, and DJ Jasmine Solano, the series both recognizes the first feminist movement, which used yellow as a symbol, and protests that movement’s exclusivity, racism, and classism. Unity in Color’s mission reflects our own commitment to intersectionality and, following the shoot by Austin-based photographers Jinni J and Diana Ascarrunz, we shared snacks with all involved and discussed how to include that intersectionality in feminism’s future. Participating in the series was absolutely a highlight of the year for our team.

8.) Return of BABES FEST

BABES FEST was back and better than ever in 2017, with three whole days of women-led and women-created music, comedy, and film. Over three locations in Austin, we hosted more than 50 artists across various medium to help right the severely male-skewed ratios of most music, film, and comedy festivals. And for the first year, we had help from the Line Hotel, who sponsored the festival, helping us to make a bigger splash than we might have otherwise.

9.) The #BBATX Rebrand

New look, new us. This year, we got an update — one that meant a lot to us and reflected the future we envision for our organization. Gone are the pink backgrounds and green fronds. Instead, we welcomed oranges, blues, Texas, a new font, and a new mood. Check out the look here and read about our process in finding and defining it.

Thanks for sharing all of these incredible memories and moments with us! For a full look at this year by the numbers, take a peek at 2017's Impact Report. Then, share with us what you've got planned for 2018 in the comments below.